Remember that tootsie pop commercial “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Toostie pop?” If you’re over 40 you do.

I’m waaaaaay over 40.

But I digress.

I’ve been TRADITIONALLY published for 4 years now. My first book hit the shelves from The Wild Rose press in 2015. Since then I’ve had 3 books published with Kensington/Lyrical, 9 more published with WRP and 3 more contracted, one ( so far) published with Limitless and 3 more planned for that series. I’ve won over 20 industry writing awards for my books, the most recent, the 2018 OKRWA International Digital Award and the 2019 Golden Quill Award. I’ve done speaking engagements on romance topics, I have a fierce social media presence and a good following of readers and bloggers and I’m an active member of my local RWA chapter.

I’ve done all the work to get those books contracts, too. On my own. No Literary Agent. And let me repeat – these are traditionally published, not self-pubbed books.

So, why am I still trying to land a Literary Agent when I’ve had such success on my own getting book contracts?

A good question and one I’ve had a lot of people ask me.

I see having a Literary Agent has having someone who is always guarding my six ( or, at my back for those of you who don’t watch NCIS). Someone who will do their best to try to find the publishing contracts for me, instead of me having to invest so much time and energy in doing so when I could be writing. A literary agent knows the ins and outs of the publishing community, what’s new, what’s going out of style. They’ll be able to garner you international rights so your books get to other readers in other countries; they know what conferences to attend, what CONS to do books signings at to increase your exposure and get you more sales. They are your first professional reader and editor, able to tell you where you need to make changes to your manuscript to get it “publishing ready.”

Having a Literary Agent may seem old fashioned to some of the new wave of Indie writers, but I still see having one as an entree to places in publishing I could never go to or get into without one. Literary Agents have relationships with publishing houses that I never will – or can. Editors for those houses trust their judgement. If they talk up an author and her work, those editors will listen instead of unknown me writing a query letter that will probably go into a spam file.

I respect Literary Agents and think they are so worth having. You have a doctor to protect your health; a dentist to protect your teeth. A literary agent protects you and your work. Makes sense, no?

And yet, I still haven’t been able to get any LA’s interested in representing me, so I ask again, how many published books – traditionally published books – does it take before someone will be interested in representing me?

The answer to the tootsie pop question was 3. It takes 3 licks to get to center of a tootsie pop.

I’ve queried upward of 25-30 Literary Agents the past few years. And I’m still not …at the center of the tootsie pop.

Le sigh. Maybe this year at #RWA2019 I’ll finally meet the Agent of my dreams. I can always hope and dream……

Hey, did you know my current book is currently on sale exclusively at AMAZON and KU?
Here are the links:

So. I’ve been on radio silence for the past week because I’ve been vacationing with family in Iceland. More on that experience to come in the next few days.

But…

While I was on the never ending customs line at JFK yesterday after touching back down on home turf, I checked my Twitter and Facebook feeds and found out from two friends that I’m a finalist in the romantic suspense category of the 2018 Stiletto Contest for my book A SHOT AT LOVE.

When my week-long email file finally uploaded, I found the official letter telling me this!! I”m so excited. I was a finalist last year, too, for my novella A Kiss Under the Christmas Lights.

It’s such an honor to be nominated. The winners in each category will be announced at this year’s Stiletto Awards ceremony in Denver, CO during RWA 2018.

I’ll keep you updated!

In the mean time, I have a ton of laundry to do, groceries to get because there are literally crumbs in my cabinets, bills to pay and a 1,000 email box to declutter. See ya in a couple of days ( if I’m lucky!)

The 2016 Predators and Editors Voting polls are open and I’ve got 2 books nominated in the ROMANCE category. L ast year I came in third and I’d really like to elevate that status this year because something like this is a great way for writers to get their names out to people who otherwise wouldn’t know them.

If you have a few minutes please consider voting for either A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS or THE VOICES OF ANGELS, both in the ROMANCE category. I’ve included the links here: